A new book will feature writing, photography and art from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students and teachers.
The book — called “Parkland Speaks” — will include first-person accounts of the Feb. 14 shooting and perspectives from students and teachers about finding healing and hope in its aftermath. It will be published in January of 2019 by Random House, according to English teacher and yearbook adviser Sarah Lerner, who is the book's editor.
Lerner also penned two pieces for it: her account of the day of the shooting and an essay about what writing means to her.
She said working on the book was cathartic but also difficult for her students.
"For some of the kids, it was hard to have to go back and revise the pieces because they were so raw and honest," Lerner said. "To write something for yourself is one thing, but then … to have a real-life editor look at it — it was eye-opening."
During a recent interview with WLRN, Lerner reflected on the process of creating last year's yearbook.
"It's always important to use your own voice to tell your story because nobody can tell it as well as you can," she said. "You lived it."
READ MORE: Stoneman Douglas English Teacher On The 'Unknowns' Of A New School Year
Lerner said some proceeds from the sale will benefit a foundation called Shine MSD, which was founded by Stoneman Douglas students to create opportunities for healing through art.
Lerner's book is one of several that will focus on the Parkland shooting. Student survivors and siblings David and Lauren Hogg released a book in June called "#NeverAgain: A New Generation Draws The Line." Also, Dave Cullen, who wrote a best-selling book about the Columbine high school shooting, is set to release a new work, "Parkland," around the one-year anniversary.
READ MORE: How Songwriting Helped Two Parkland Teens Find — And Share — 'Hope For The Future'
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